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Zeus : a study in ancient religion - Warburg Institute

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The Elysian Way 43<br />

Way'. Aga<strong>in</strong>, Empedotimos of Syracuse^ who figures as an<br />

adherent of Pythagoras^, held ' that the Milky Way is the road of<br />

souls travers<strong>in</strong>g the Hades <strong>in</strong> heaven'*.' Platon too is presumably<br />

Pythagoris<strong>in</strong>g, when <strong>in</strong> a famous passage of the Phaidros he tells<br />

how god-like souls follow the gods round the great arch of heaven<br />

and from its summit behold sights of unspeakable splendour <strong>in</strong> the<br />

region beyond the sky<br />

<strong>Zeus</strong>, the great chiefta<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> heaven, driv<strong>in</strong>g a w<strong>in</strong>ged car, travels first,<br />

arrang<strong>in</strong>g and presid<strong>in</strong>g over all th<strong>in</strong>gs ; and after him comes a host of gods<br />

and <strong>in</strong>ferior deities, marshalled <strong>in</strong> eleven divisions, for Hestia stays at home<br />

alone <strong>in</strong> the mansion of the gods ; but all the other rul<strong>in</strong>g powers, that have<br />

their place <strong>in</strong> the number of the twelve, march at the head of a troop <strong>in</strong> the<br />

^ H. Diels ad loc. (Poetarti<strong>in</strong> philosophorum fragmenta Berol<strong>in</strong>i 1901 p. 58) says:<br />

' utique Solis orbita videtur <strong>in</strong>tellegenda, quam poeta lucido mentis curru, felicior ille<br />

Phaethonte, quotiens Hbebat escendebat.' The mention of the Heliades does <strong>in</strong>deed<br />

recall Phaethon. But the fall of Phaethon was connected by the Pythagoreans with the<br />

Milky Way {supra p. 40, <strong>in</strong>fra §3 (a) vi (X)). F. M. Cornford <strong>in</strong> his brilliant hooV From<br />

Religion to Philosophy London 1912 pp. 214 f., 222 n. 3 <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>es to the view put forward<br />

by O. Gilbert <strong>in</strong> the Archiv fiir Geschichte der Philosophic 1907 xx. 25 ff., viz. that<br />

Parmenides' journey was a descent <strong>in</strong>to the darkness of the Underworld.<br />

^ Clem. Al. Strom, i. 21 p. 82, 27 Stahl<strong>in</strong>.<br />

^ Souid. s.vv. 'Efnre86Tifj.oi and 'JovXiaudi, Lobeck Aglaophanuis ii. 935. But see<br />

<strong>in</strong>fra n. 4.<br />

* Philop. <strong>in</strong> Aristot. meteor, p. 117, 8 ff. Ilayduck tovtoi% koX rots roioi/rois Ty\v iztpl<br />

Tov yoKaKTos vwddecriv 'ApiffroriXovs dveXuv KaXws 6 AafidcrKios ti)v 'Efxiredorlfjiov irepl toO<br />

•ydXaKTos oiKftovTai, 'ipyov {dpyuv codd., corr. C. A. Lobeck) avT7]v (aiiTov codd., corn<br />

C. A. Lobeck) ov (ante ov lac. v litt. <strong>in</strong>. cod. V.) ixvdov KaXwv. (prjcri yap eKelvos 65bv elvai.<br />

xf/vxi^v rb ydXa tCiv tov "AiSr]v (fV dSrj codd., tov "Ai.5rjv corr. C. A. Lobeck) tov (twv<br />

codd. M.V. ) iv ovpavtf 8iaTropevo/j.4vo}v. Kai ov OavpLacTTOv, (prjalv 6 Aap^daKtos, ei Kai ^vxo.i<br />

KaOalpovTai fv TO^Tif) tQ kijkX({) ttjs (kvkXiji ttjs dub. cj. M. Hayduck) ev ovpavi^<br />

yiv^aius, cp. ih. p. 117, 31 ff. 6 5^

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